PEORIA, Ill. -- Gal Mekel and PJ Couisnard combined for 31 second-half points, each finishing with 19 overall, leading Wichita State (8-6, 1-2) to an 80-73 Missouri Valley Conference road victory versus Bradley (7-8, 0-3) Saturday night at Carver Arena.
The Shockers trailed by 10 with 3:07 left in the first half and overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to halt their brief two-game losing streak. Playing its third consecutive game without injured preseason All-MVC point guard Daniel Ruffin, Bradley dropped its fifth straight overall and its fourth in a row at Carver Arena.
Phillip Thomasson added 15 points to complete Wichita State's double-digit scoring attack. Bradley's starting guard trio of Jeremy Crouch (19), Andrew Warren (19) and Sam Maniscalco (11) combined for 49 points to pace the Braves offensively. Crouch also dished out a career-best nine assists.
Wichita State came into the game last in The Valley in field goal percentage (.399) and ninth in scoring offense (60.8 ppg), but the Shockers shot 64.3 percent (27-42) from the field, the third-best opponent field goal percentage in Carver Arena's 26-year history and the seventh-best mark overall by a Bradley opponent. Wichita State also outrebounded Bradley, 38-22, the third consecutive game the Braves have lost the rebound battle by a double-digit margin.
The Shockers needed the hot shooting and board work to overcome 25 turnovers. Bradley's pressure forced the Shockers into 17 first-half miscues, keying a 37-29 halftime lead as the Braves outscored WSU 14-3 in points off turnovers in the first 20 minutes. The Braves were unable to build a bigger cushion, however, due to their cold shooting. Although Bradley had 21 more first-half field goal attempts than Wichita State, the Braves were a chilly 14-of-37 (.378) from the floor.
While Bradley continued to struggle with its shot in the second half, making just 8-of-21 attempts (.381), Wichita State cleaned up its ball handling and truly heated up on the offensive end by making 18-of-26 (.692) field goal attempts in the period.
The Shockers quickly erased their halftime deficit by hitting the Braves with a 13-3 run to start the half. Couisnard's 3-pointer 4-minutes into the half knotted the score at 40-40 and Mekel's two free throws on the next possession gave Wichita State its first lead, 42-40, since it held a 6-5 advantage.
After missing his first seven 3-point field goal attempts of the game, Crouch hit five of his next six attempts from behind the arc, including consecutive tries that helped pull the Braves into a 46-46 tie with 13:56 left. But Wichita State countered with a 20-6 outburst to take a game-high 14-point lead, 66-52, with 6:42 left.
Bradley launched one more salvo, starting with two more Crouch triples, and pulled to within 71-69 on a Warren free throw with 1:47 remaining, but Mekel (5-6) and Thomasson (2-2) combined to make 7-of-8 free throw attempts in the last 1:13 and Thomasson ended the game with a breakaway slam to hold off the home side.
Bradley will hit the road for its next two games, Tuesday night at Southern Illinois in a 6 p.m. game to be televised nationally on ESPNU and Saturday night at Northern Iowa. The Braves then will return to Carver Arena for a season-long three-game homestand, beginning Jan. 16 versus redhot Drake.
